Keynote speaker chosen

By Benjamin Engle

Alan F. Horn '64, President and Chief Operating Officer of Warner Bros. Entertainment, will address the graduates, friends, and families of the class of 2010 as the keynote speaker at the 216th Commencement Ceremony of Union College, college officials recently announced.

Scheduled for Sunday, June 13, 2010, on Hull Plaza, approximately 500 students in the Class of 2010 will receive degrees during the ceremony.

"I'm honored to be delivering the commencement address and look forward to revisiting the campus in June," said Horn, who will receive an honorary doctor of fine arts degree.

Mr. Horn, who earned an economics degree from Union, later joined the U.S. Air Force for a five-year term, and received an MBA from Harvard Business School. While the Air Force Captain hoped to fly jets in the Air Force, he never made it to the cockpit because of his poor eyesight. Instead, he was stationed in Korea where he earned a 3rd black belt in tae kwon do.

After graduating from Harvard in 1972, Horn spent two years in brand management for the Ivory Soap Brand at Procter & Gamble.

After spending time at Procter & Gamble, Horn served as Chairman & CEO of Embassy Communications, a company owned by Andrew Perenchio and legendary produced, Norman Leer.

Prior to 1999, when Horn assumed his position at Warner Bros., he founded Castle Rock Entertainment in 1987. At Castle Rock, where he served as the company's chairman and CEO, he became known for producing successful TV series and films including 'Seinfeld', A Few Good Men, The Shawshank Redemption, and The Green Mile.

Since his successes at Castle Rock, Horn has made Warner Bros. one of Hollywood's most successful movie studios in recent years. As president and COO, Horn oversees all of the Studio's theatrical and home entertainment operations, including the Warner Bros. Picture Group and New Line Cinema.

During his time at Warner Bros., some of the most popular and profitable films of the industry have been produced, including the Harry Potter series, the most successful motion picture franchise in history, The Dark Night, Batman Begins, Ocean's 11, 12, and 13, the second and third Matrix films, and Million Dollar Baby.

More recently, under Horn's guidance, his studio has produced theatrical blockbusters including Watchmen, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Sherlock Holmes.

Horn is also a member of numerous prestigious Hollywood institutions, including the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Academy of Television, Arts, and Sciences.

When Horn returned to the Union campus for the first time in over 25 years for ReUnion weekend in May 2009, he gave a presentation and spoke candidly about his years at Union and experiences in the corporate world.

He also, according to the Summer 2009 edition of the Union College magazine, discussed his transition from an "ill-suited electrical engineering student" to an economics major.

Additionally, during his 2009 ReUnion visit, Horn described his time at Union as " 'great for me,' and a place where he met many friends and professors," according to the Union College magazine.

Originally published in Union's Concordy on 2/25/10

Blue House becomes Messa House

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Blue House of North College will be renamed Messa House at noon on Sat., May 29 as a part of the Reunion Weekend celebrations.

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By Benjamin Engle

Blue House, one of the seven Minerva Houses at Union College, will be renamed during ReUnion weekend to recognize a $2 million unrestricted gift to the college by Frank L. Messa '73, Chair of the Board of Trustees, and his wife, Colleen Messa.

Blue House will be renamed Messa House during an official dedication ceremony on Sat., May 29, at noon. The Messas chose Blue House to rename because of their family's connection to the Minerva; their daughter Keri Messa '08 was a member of Blue House.

Messa, who retired as senior vice president for International Strategies at the Ayco Company, a local tax and financial consulting firm, earned a bachelor's degree magna cum laude in Political Science from Union in 1973 and received a J.D. degree from Albany Law School in 1976. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was a finalist for the Albert C. Ingham Prize, given to the student in social sciences with the most outstanding scholarly work.

Though Messa graduated 37 years ago, he has been an active alumnus. He has been a member of the Board of Trustees since 1994, serving as chairman since 2007. Messa is co-chair of the "You are Union" fundraising campaign and led the Presidential Selection Committee for Union's 18th president, Stephen Ainlay.

The gift by the Messas is just one part of the college's "You are Union" campaign, which according to the Alumni Relations website, has raised $183.1 million as of March 31. The "You are Union" campaign is to support projects outlined in the college's Strategic Plan and was recently expanded, setting a new fundraising goal of $250 million by 2012.

As part of the campaign, the college's goal is to raise $191 million by June 30.

"[The gift] is an extremely generous act of support by a loyal Union family. It says a great deal about their confidence in the college. This gift follows years of support - commitments of time, expertise, and financial resources - including the Messa hockey rink. He currently serves as the Chair of the Board and so he knows that this gift comes at a critical time," Ainlay said. "It shows his confidence in Union and the strategic direction that we are pursuing. Through this gift, the family demonstrates its belief that Union is making a difference."

According to the Feb. Board of Trustees Report by Mr. Messa, the gift will be his second major campaign gift. "The gift will further one of the important initiatives in our Strategic Plan and provide much needed capital to the college during the ongoing financial crisis."

"[The gift] comes at a time when the economic downturn has led many people to be cautious," President Ainlay added. "I hope that the Messa gift will be inspirational to others. As an unrestricted gift, it allows the college to direct much needed financial support to areas of greatest need."

In addition to this contribution, the Messa family has been generous in their donations to the College in the past. The family has provided the funds for the renovation of Frank L. Messa Rink at Achilles Center, the renovation of Schaffer Library, the establishment of the Frank Messa '73 Endowed Scholarship, and the Steinway Piano Fund for the new Taylor Music Center.

Established in 2004, the Minerva Program is made up of seven houses and was created to expand the educational and social experiences of students, faculty, and staff. When they were originally created, each Minerva House was named for a color; however, they were renamed in honor of donors who gave significant contributions to the college.

Chronologically, the houses were renamed Wold House (John '38 and Jane Wold), Golub House (William Golub '26, from son Neil), Beuth House (Philip Beuth '54), Sorum House in 2005 (Christina Sorum, dean of faculty and vice president of Academic Affairs who died in 2005, from Paul Sorum), and Breazzano House in 2007 (David Breazzano '78).

Of the original seven Minerva Houses, Green House is the final house in the program that has not been renamed.

While there are no specific plans to rename Green House at this time, President Ainlay is optimistic that the gift by the Messa family will inspire others to donate to the College during these tough economic times.

"We continue discussions with other donors about the naming of Green House," Ainlay commented. "Our intention is to have it named as well before the end of the current Capital Campaign."

In honor of the renaming of Blue House, the Minerva will host a big party to celebrate the new name after the fireworks display on Library Field during ReUnion Weekend. Open to the entire campus, the Messa House event will have fried dough, slushies, popcorn, and other carnival-style activities.

"Having 6 of the 7 houses named is a big accomplishment," Dean Thomas McEvoy added, "and I would really like to thank the Messa family for their generous contribution."McEvoy is the director of the Minerva program.

Messa House is governed by a council that is elected at the end of each winter term. The council, which is open to all Messa House members, works to create both intellectual and social events as well as create a home-away-from-home feeling for the campus community. It meets on Thursdays at 9 p.m. in the house and is open to the entire campus community.

"We're inclusive. Over the years we've worked hard to reach out to everyone in the Union community and let them know that they are welcome. We try to keep the physical condition and social feeling of the house comfortable," Blue House Faculty Representative Shelton Schmidt said.

"While being at Union I have come to consider Blue House my home. I know that I will continue to come back and visit Messa house and feel the same way because it is a place with a lot of heart!" added outgoing Council Chair, Tamara Linde '10. "When it comes down to it, we don't Messa-round!"

Originally Published in Union's Concordy on 4/8/10

What's New With Wold

By Benjamin Engle

In the coming weeks, physical construction will commence on Union College's Peter Irving Wold Science and Engineering Center, an $18 million, 35,000 square foot state-of-the-art addition to house the College's science and interdisciplinary programs.

The Center will house Biochemistry, Environmental Science and Engineering, a high performance computer lab, state-of-the-art laboratories and classrooms, and flexible incubator labs for Electrical Engineering & Music research.

Additionally, the three-story building will house a rooftop renewable energy lab dedicated display areas to showcase student and faculty research.

The Wold Center, which will be located in the area between Science and Engineering, the F.W. Olin Center, Schaffer Library, and Social Sciences (the future Lippman Hall), will be using a portion of a gift by John Wold '38 and his wife Jane in 2002, the largest alumni gift in Union history.

Wold is a former U.S. Congressman and is a geologist and the president of Wold Minerals Company. The building will be named for his father, Peter Wold, who was a professor at Union in the physics department.

The first signs of construction will begin after ReUnion weekend during the week of June 1 with the erection of a fence around the construction site. According to Doug Klein, Dean of Interdisciplinary Studies, the fence will close the entire area between Schaffer Library and the Olin Center, including the walkway to Alumni Gymnasium.

The entrances to Science and Engineering that face the Library and Gym will be closed to the public; however, the main entrance to the Gym will continue to be accessible.

Additionally, the tunnel connecting the Olin Building to the Science and Engineering Building will continue to open and Klein believes it will become the main thru-way to Science and Engineering.

Construction trailers and the staging area for supplies will be located on the grassy area behind the Gym at the intersection of Alexander Lane and South Lane. While trucks will be using Alexander Lane for access to the construction site, the road will be open throughout the building process.

According to Dean Klein, the overall project, which is scheduled to finish in winter 2011, is approximately two weeks behind schedule. However, according to Klein being behind is nothing to worry about.

"With a project of this size, being a few weeks behind the original schedule is fine," Klein said.
During the past few months, architects (Einhorn, Yaffee, Prescott) have been finalizing plans for the building. Klein stated that the project is within budget that has been set with the architects, though that was not always the case.

"Early in the process, we weren't on budget," Klein said. "We had to make compromises, though none were programmatic and we didn't lose any square footage. Since the original plans, the architects took away some windows to lower costs."

However, the design committee and architects are still committed to designing the building to achieve LEED Gold status from the U.S. Green Building Council.

"We are continuing to expand the use of alternative energy in the building," Klein explained.
Klein expects finalization of sustainability plans in the near future, though according to the Wold Construction website, the building will include metering equipment for electric, chilled water and steam, waterless urinals and dual flush water closets, the use of materials that will reduce the quantity of indoor air contaminants that are odorous and harmful to occupants, as well as other environmentally friendly initiatives.

While the architects are still working on the final drawings for the Center, the bidding phases are underway.

"There are three bidding phases," explained Klein. "The first phase was utilities and relocation, which already happened. We are about to open the bidding for the foundation and steel contract and the building construction call for bids will take place in the middle of the summer."
Major work with utilities and relocation of utilities will begin between ReUnion weekend and Commencement. In addition, the foundation for the Wold Center is scheduled to be complete by January 1, 2010.

While construction will end daily around 3 p.m., Klein ensures that the disruption to classes will be minimized.

"We are working with contractors to make sure construction sounds will be kept to a minimum during exam weeks," Klein said.

Updates and more information about the construction process can be found at http://www.union.edu/Campus/wold/index.php

Originally published in Union's Concordy on 5/28/09